With a plethora of projects to his name, Elephant Stone frontman Rishi Dhir is somewhat synonymous with great music. He holds credits for Beck, Brian Johnstown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols among many others, giving his own band Elephant Stone an eclectic, eccentric and catchy starting point, one which has led to this, their fourth LP ‘Ship of Fools’.
With a sound described by Dhir as “Hindie-Rock”, ‘Ship of Fools’ pulls from the world’s of throwback 80’s electro pop, modern indie rock and a bit of everything in between. This album in particular has acted as a journey of discovery for Dhir’s true inner pop song writer. With all 11 tracks more than capable of holding their own individually, whether it be on the radio or the dance floor of some backstreet, underground, hyper cool indie club, there is definitely something about the sound Elephant Stone produce.
Lead single ‘Andromeda’ takes the shape of a slow and airy pop song. Everything about it places the listener in a dreamlike state, with the drums acting as almost hypnotic vessel carrying a wave of uplifting electronica. Dhir’s vocal is equally as lazy with his simple melodies acting as the perfect accompaniment. ‘Ship of Fools’ carries much the same formula throughout with distorted bass and jangly guitars punctuating their synthetic soundscape. Album opener ‘Manipulator’ and ‘The Devil’s Shelter’ showcase all of this, while ‘See The Light’ sounds like the fastest finger first round on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. In fact, snatches of this whole album sound almost gameshow-like, it could be a new genre revolution.
‘Ship of Fools’ is a good album and makes for great background music, a driving soundtrack or something to put on as you ready yourself for a night on the tiles. There are high points but on the whole ‘Ship of Fools’ may struggle to be remembered, which is a real shame as Elephant Stone are innovators that are full of promise and deserve to be at the forefront of their scene.
3.5/5
‘Ship of Fools’ by Elephant Stone is released on 25th November on Burger Records.
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Words by Jay Harrison (@Just_Jay_89)
